MUSICAL SUCCESS: STUNNING RISE OF STEEL BANGLEZ
THE INSPIRING RISE OF STEEL BANGLEZ FROM HUMBLE BEGINNINGS TO BECOMING A HUGE NAME
ONE of the biggest British Asian musical success stories of recent years has been the remarkable rise of London born Steel Banglez.
The hit-making producer has scored big in the western mainstream with superb songs, smashed glass ceiling, blazed a trail with his unique brand of music and introduced new talent with a fearless swagger. Gaining global attention hasn’t gone to his head and the terrifically talented music star has been putting the finishing touches to his hotly anticipated new album during lockdown, along with giving undiscovered talent a platform on his popular Instagram live broadcasts.
Eastern Eye caught up with Steel Banglez during lockdown for an inspiring discussion on his incredible success, ambitious plans, what kept him going during his struggle, new music and advice he would give newcomers wanting to follow in his giant footsteps.
How have you been coping with the Covid-19 lockdown? Basically, I did what everyone else did in the beginning and started panic buying. (Laughs) I think I got about 50,000 toilet rolls. So at the start, I did that, filling up my fridge and freezers. I started feeding into conspiracy theories and wasn’t coping that well. All this crazy information that was going around was cracking my head up. But I started focusing on the music and spending more time with my family.
How has that been? I’ve seen it as a blessing to spend more time with my parents. I have also been
in the studio, so I’m always isolated anyways. I’d been spending 16 hours everyday in the studio, whether the world had coronavirus or not. Being in the creative industry, I’m used to being isolated.
The impact you have made in mainstream music has been immense. Have you had a chance to reflect on your success during lockdown? I haven’t really taken it in yet. I think that is the humble side of me because I am very work-orientated, but I am grateful for where I am and what I’ve achieved. I mean it has taken me over a decade to get to where I am. From toiling the streets of the underground to where we are today making music. It is more about my role to keep production at a high level.
What I admire about you apart from the songs is that success hasn’t changed you. What keeps you grounded? (Laughs) My age. I am 33 years old now. Had I been maybe in my early twenties, like the artists I work with, earning the money I am, it might have got to me at that age, but I think it’s also my upbringing – the humble household I was raised in Forest Gate, East London, and just the cultural values and what my parents always taught me. They prepared me for the world and to be successful. I saw people lose themselves when they became successful.
What do you mean? As I was coming up, I saw a lot of people on their way down, and started to decode what was bringing them down and lot of it was ego, not being humble and just being lost in the moment. I am here for as long as my life, as an extraordinary producer. Producers have very long careers and it is vital that I keep going.
Would it be fair to say that you are fearless? Yeah. My best friend Suleman Saleem and I have a saying; anything that comes at us, including in my career, we just respond with, ‘we don’t care and we don’t fear’. That’s it! We have come too far to be in the public eye for people to drag us down. People love dragging others down because of their own insecurities on social media, spreading lies and things like that. Firstly, I don’t do the internet beef thing, that is not where I come from and secondly, we don’t care and we don’t fear. We leave it at that! I have got my brothers with me and have come from nothing to where I am today. No one can take that from me. I am fearless and doing it for the Asians as well. I’m battling and am kind of alone out here right now. We need more Asians to come through.
I love how you open doors for new talent. How important is that for you? To keep the game moving and fresh sounds coming in, it’s always im- portant to give new people recognition. Also, I never used to get that sort of rec- ognition when I was coming up. I used to always wish that someone would reach out and give me a platform. It is my role as a producer and someone with a voice to give new talent a chance. They are with me today. They were new talents and I worked with them at the start.
You have become a strong role model. What advice would you give young people starting out in music? My advice is based on what you are, if you are a vocalist or a producer. Find yourself one of each and then stick together, work on a sound and create something unique, evolve, build and you will get your time.
What kept you motivated during your days of struggle? Knowing where I come from and remembering going to Queen’s Market, when my mum couldn’t afford groceries. This is for my parents and for my family. This is for people calling me a f**king Paki for 20 years, do you know what I mean? Being abused and being told Asians can’t make music. I feel it’s overlooked, the kind of racism Asians received, that I received. We are programmed to accept it, but I don’t accept that.
Would you tell us about your forthcoming documentary film? I have basically had my friend and cameraman Jeff follow me for nearly a year, whatever I have done. Whether it is all the festivals, the making of my album, every session with every artist. Whether I was in Dubai, Paris or Toronto, wherever I have been, I’ve been filmed. We compiled this documentary for the release of my album, coming out soon. It’s the history of Steel Banglez. Many don’t know where it began and think it all started when I released my first record. It is a document of my growth, where I have got to and am heading. It’s a documentary of Steel Banglez so far.
When is the album out and what can we expect from it? It is one of the most unique and musical albums you will hear from the UK, but it’s not complicated and I haven’t overcooked it. The coronavirus has delayed things because there was a big promotional campaign I wanted to do and take over every screen, and really go for it, but can’t do that right now. I’ve invested my own money into this album. I am talking six figures. It would be a shame for fans of music and a let down for me if I have taken the last six to eight months to work on my album and I just released it on an audio format.
So what is the plan? I think I will drop my album when the world is ready to listen to it, after Covid-19 and people are in a good place to consume it. What I am gonna do is release two songs, off the 28 track album, within two months of each other. One is out in June, called Drip Drip, which features Mist, Nines, Mostack and Mastermind.
It’s a big song. After that, I got another Steff London collaboration with a special guest. Then I will wait and hopefully this corona stuff will be over. I am gonna drop the album when people can take it in.
You have made the right moves, do you have a master plan going forward? The master plan started when I sat in jail as a 17-year-old. I always knew I was going to be one of the biggest producers in the country. I read a lot of books on selfempowerment, on the mind and attracting stuff. I was just thinking outside of how I was raised too. I want to be one of the biggest music executives in years to come on the likes of Jimmy Iovine and Dr Dre. I think I hold the history, heritage and blueprint for UK rap music. That will play a major role in years to come. So I think I will be championing new talent, still be producing and will be an exec of my own record label on a grand stage.
‘It is vital that I keep going’
Tell us more… I will be responsible for creating future superstars, like ones you see today. I will be creating the next superstar wave of the UK. Everything I have been doing so far has been built towards that; all my knowledge, my ups, downs, successes and losses, have been built towards that next level, which is being a music exec.
Why do you love music? I love music because it is in my family, in my blood. It’s not something you can describe to be honest, but I think what made me really fall in love with music was the lyrics in Punjabi, Urdu and Hindi, and the meanings of the songs I learned. That whole South Asian style of musical notations and choices that producers made and singers sang made me fall in love with music, along with our culture and growing up in the UK.
1985, with real life sisters Ratna Pathak and Supriya Pathak playing the lead roles. The series about independent women living alone was ahead of its time and was taken off after just 12 episodes, but made a return in 1997 and has since gained cult status. 19. Flop Show: Someone who was known as the king of satire, Jaspal Bhatti wrote, directed and path-breaking because it was the first prime-time Indian drama to be produced primarily in English. The serial dealing with a post-independence generation balancing the twin worlds of Indian and urban western ethos had an impressive star cast and ran for 252 episodes
16. Shrimaan Shrimati: The popularity of this classic Hindi sitcom, which aired from 1994-1999, is such that it has been re-telecast during the coronavirus lockdown. The “love thy neighbour’s wife” concept revolved around a married man falling for a glamorous woman next door, and her simple husband becoming attracted to his smart, but caring wife.
15. Zabaan Sambhalke: The Indian answer to 1970s British serial Mind Your Language ran for 54 superstar Shah Rukh Khan. The show led to him landing more small screen roles in serials, including Circus and then making a successful leap to cinema.
12. Banegi Apni Baat: The TV series, which ran for more than 300 episodes, from 1993 until 1997 gave a first break to actors who would become popular stars, including Irrfan Khan and R Madhavan. The series focused primarily on college life, tackled many social issues and gave rise to more shows aimed at younger audiences.
11. Byomkesh Bakshi: The first Hindi serial based on the legendary detective novels had two seasons, which aired in 1993 and 1997. Rajit Kapur took on the title role of the clever sleuth in a drama serial, which was a massive critical and commercial success. The series is so revered that it has been re-telecast during the on-going coronavirus lockdown series was massively popular and ran for 450 episodes from 1997 to 2005. Children loved the superhero rooted in Indian tradition and cheered for him each week. The fantasy adventure returned for an animated series and the original has been re-telecast during the lockdown. A new series is also being planned.
8. Karamchand: The first popular detective series of India aired in the mid-1980s and saw Pankaj Kapur play a sleuth who helps the police solve murder cases. The series made a surprise return in 2007 with Pankaj reprising his role of the carrot chewing detective. Such is the legendary status of the series that character Raj Koothrapali mentioned Karamchand in an episode of globally popular sitcom The Big Bang Theory.
7. Malgudi Days: The episodic series set in a fictional town was based on a collection of short stories
dealt with the 20th century history of India and in particular Partition. The series with a strong star cast would help bridge the gap between Indian cinema and television. and first aired from 1988-1990. The 94-episode series based on the Hindu epic of the same name had the kind of grandeur not seen on Indian TV before and significantly raised the bar. The series pulled in record-breaking viewing figures and made a triumphant recent return to television during the Covid-19 lockdown. 1. Ramayan: Mythological series have always been popular in India and this was the first big blockbuster. The small-screen adaptation of the ancient Hindu epic of the same name smashed the world record for viewing figures and had the nation hooked when it premiered in 1987. The story following the journey of Ram has been re-telecast during the coronavirus lockdown and broken records again, over 30 years later, which confirms that it really is the greatest Indian drama of all time.